Has fire season hit the Central Coast?

March 13, 2015

Three fires broke out on the Central Coast Thursday amid a stretch of unseasonably warm temperatures. [KEYT]

An apartment fire in Santa Maria displaced 40 residents and injured three people, while a riverbed blaze in Ventura County burned more than 15 acres. In Santa margarita, a brush fire burned six acres.

The Santa Maria fire began just before 4:30 p.m. at a second floor balcony in the Vizcaya apartment complex. During the blaze a female resident suffered a minor burn on her arm, a firefighter received treatment for smoke inhalation and a police officer reported that some debris landed in his eye.

After the fire, inspectors deemed nine units uninhabitable. The Red Cross is assisting the displaced residents.

At approximately 3:54 p.m., brush caught fire in the bed of the Ventura River, outside the city of Ventura. Authorities evacuated 150 people from the nearby campus of the Brooks Institute, and firefighters battled the blaze overnight.

Investigators suspect that an arsonist started the fire. The Ventura County Sheriff’s Office is investigating the cause of the blaze.

The Santa Margarita fire broke out by Park Hill Road near Oak Canyon. Firefighters contained it by Thursday evening after it burned at least six acres.

4 Comments

Fire Season? Good Lord! Has anybody looked at out at our hills? I realize we have issues with drought, but saying an ‘early fire season’ is the most absurd thing anyone can say right now. Fire season will happen soon enough, but there’s no place for fear-mongering at this time.